Government safeguard for construction industry

The Australian Financial Security Authority (AFSA) is promoting a financial safeguard that may be of interest to businesses in the building and construction industry, including HVAC&R: the Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR).

The PPSR is a public noticeboard of security interests in personal property, and provides a way for businesses to help get their invoices paid or their goods back if a customer can’t pay.

This can be an important protection in the construction industry, where the PPSR can provide risk protection for leased equipment left onsite, or when supplying goods on credit for installation.

Personal property can include a wide range of construction tools and materials including timber, concrete, tiles, formwork, scaffolding, temporary fencing, pumps, trucks, roofing and insulation – but it doesn’t include land, buildings and fixtures. 

Businesses that add their information to the PPSR are declaring their interest in the goods supplied. This can mean they will have a legal right to be first in line to be paid or to get goods back.

It costs $6 to make a registration, and the protection lasts for up to seven years.

The PPSR also has several guides about how to make a registration or make a claim:

• Trying to get your invoices paid?
• Your customer has gone broke and an insolvency practitioner has been appointed — what happens now?
• Your customer has defaulted on your security agreement – what happens now?

For more information, click here.